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Episode 330: A Lengthy Listener Email Show
Date November 15, 2013 Summary Ben and Sam answer a strong selection of listener emails on award voting, the BBWAA, defensive stats, Phillies analytics, lefty catchers, free agent compensation systems, and more. Topics * BBWAA naming * Starting an analytics program for a MLB team * Left handed catchers * Who should have award votes? * Alternatives to BBWAA awards * Episode 322 follow-up: Qualifying offer solutions * Improving sabermetric statistics Intro Annie Hall Marshall Mcluhan sound clip Banter Sam comments that 3:30 PM is the time of day he used stop working and wait for the 4:05 PM (PST) baseball games to start. Email Questions * David: "Baseball is one word. Why does BBWAA get spelled and pronounced with the second B? The acronym is painfully awkward. Use your influence to correct this." * Peter: "On last week's show (Episode 325) you talked about the Phillies finally adding a stats guy to the front office but noting that it was just one guy you talked about how that was not nearly enough. So that got me thinking, what are the first things that person would do to bring analytics into an organization that had never used them? I think in that conversation Sam said he'd take that job in a heartbeat. So Sam, what would you do?" * Matt: "Do you think the emerging comprehension of an emphasis on pitch framing will lead to a left handed catcher in the majors soon? The reasons for which lefties are never allowed to catch have been flimsy. There's the minor issue, a half beat lost on throws to third, but its not a huge deal. On balance getting a left handed player behind the dish is a major structural advantage than being left handed is a physical disadvantage. Still, something will have to happen in order to top conventional wisdom on this front and I wonder if that something is framing. Consider, no MLB umpire has probably ever umped behind a left handed catcher. If the first few guys to do it are smart and technically sound I would think they could manipulate an arbiter even better than a right hander could. It's entirely possible that the reason most plate expanding calls are on pitches to the third base corner of the dish has to do with the angle and attitude of the catcher's arm, body, and glove when the ball arrives. If that's true, it would follow that a lefty catcher would better frame the outside corner to righties and that's actually the more valuable corner of the plate for pitchers to control since the majority of plate appearances are taken from the right handed batters box. Seems like the time for a lefty catcher could finally be upon us, do you agree?" * Brady: "I was on a rant last night about how we force analysts' hats on columnists and beat writers by giving them award votes. I feel researchers and real analysts should be given the privilege of determining who gets the hardware since they understand how the game works better than anyone else. How do you go about creating an association of analysts, researchers, knowledgeable baseball people so we can attempt to create a powerful alternative to the BBWAA? I would and presumably many others would respect an award given out by this panel over the alternatives." * Michael: "I agree with you that the current free agent compensation system is lousy, if there must be free agent compensation it should be done without penalizing the signing team. Here is my suggestion: teams make qualifying offers to any free agents they want to keep. A qualifying offer can be for any amount of money and any amount of years. The player can accept or decline a qualifying offer. paraphrases rest of question. If player a declines, the team that made the offer is allowed 2% of the offer's value to sign extra prospects. * Daniel: "What sabermetric statistics do you guys think is the least complete or in most need of improvement?" * Brady: "How many Cy Young's will Kershaw win in his lifetime?" Notes * At the founding of the BBWAA some were still using the two world naming convention, 'base ball'. * Sam thinks that a team should buy Baseball Prospectus to help develop an analytics program for their front office. * Most left-handed players who might throw hard enough from the catcher position are likely to be funneled into pitching from a young age. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 330: A Lengthy Listener Email Show * Is it Time to Life the Ban on Left-Handed Catchers by Max Marchi Category:Email Episodes Category:Episodes